The first of this week’s Apple announcements has just dropped. A refresh of the 24in iMac with M4 chip, Thunderbolt 4, nano-texture display option, 12MP Center Stage Camera, new colors, and more.
The first of what Apple promises to be a whole week of announcements has dropped, with Cupertino taking the wraps off a new generation of iMacs. With prices starting at $1299, the headline is easily the introduction of the M4 chip, which Apple says makes the computer 1.7x faster than the first Apple silicon generation iMacs powered by the M1.
Talking of speed improvement’s it also promises 2.1x video and photo editing performance over and above the M1, 1.5x growing performance, and 2x higher frame rates while gaming.
Unsurprisingly, base spec RAM has been upped to 16GB to accommodate all this.
The new machines are available for pre-order today and start at $1299. The base model features an 8-core CPU, an 8-core GPU, 16GB of unified memory configurable up to 24GB, 256GB SSD configurable up to 1TB, two Thunderbolt/USB 4 ports, and the new USB-C Magic Keyboard, and Magic Mouse or Magic Trackpad.
The model above features 10-core CPUs and 10-core GPUs and starts at $1499. This version features 16GB of unified memory configurable up to 32GB, 256GB SSD configurable up to 2TB, four Thunderbolt 4 ports, Magic Keyboard with Touch ID, and Magic Mouse or Magic Trackpad. All four USB-C ports support Thunderbolt 4 for superfast data transfers, so users can connect even more accessories like external storage, docks, and up to two 6K external displays.
For the first time, the 24-inch 4.5K Retina display is available with a nano-texture glass option that drastically reduces reflections and glare, while maintaining the usual high image quality. This is only an option on models with 10-core CPU and 10-core GPU and adds a hefty $200 to the cost.
The new iMac comes in seven colors; green, yellow, orange, pink, purple, and blue, alongside silver. The way that Apple shares it is that the back of the machine features bold colors designed to stand out, while the front expresses subtle shades of the new palette so users can focus on doing their best work.
Color-matched keyboards and mice or trackpads have also been introduced. These are all now USB-C, though, as far as we can tell, Apple hasn’t taken this as an opportunity to reposition the port on the mouse. Which remains as dumb a decision as ever.
The new 12MP Center Stage camera includes support for Desk View. Center Stage keeps everyone perfectly centered on a video call, while Desk View makes use of the wide-angle lens to simultaneously show the user and a top-down view of their desk. The way that Apple refers to the studio-quality three-microphone array with beamforming and immersive six-speaker sound system as 'beloved' suggests that they have not been updated.